Safety

The safest UV solution in Australia

Introducing the first humanSAFE Far UV-C lights

Deactivation of up to 99.9 percent of viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens in a few minutes without harming human skin or eyes. Our combination of Far UV-C light and patented safety filter technology is a breakthrough for the disinfection of occupied spaces.

UV222™ emits a type of UV-C light that, when applied in the correct doses and in combination with our patented safety filter technology, is safe for use in the presence of people.

The safety of UV22 explained by Christian Kanstrup Holm, CEO UV Medico

No harmful doses

UV222™ emits Far UV-C light at a wavelength of 222 nanometres (nm) in harmless doses. The doses of Far UV-C light emitted by UV222™ are in full compliance with local, European, and global guidelines.

No penetration of human skin

Numerous independent research projects have demonstrated that Far UV-C light at 222 nm, when emitted in the correct doses, can deactivate pathogens while remaining unable to penetrate the outer layer of mammalian skin or the outer tear layer of the eye.

It's much safer than being out in sunlight

Reserach from Barnard et al. [Barnard, I.R.M (2020) Photodermatol. Photoimmunol. Photomed.] determine the relative CPD yield of sunlight and filtered Far-UVC exposure. It showed 10 minutes of sunlight at a UV Index of 4 produces equivalent numbers of CPD as 30,000 hours of exposure to filtered Far-UVC at the basal layer.

This suggests that sunlight is 180,000 times more harmfall the Filtered 222nm light.

Safe from Ozone

It is well known that UV-C light having wavelengths shorter than 240nm more readily generates Ozone (O₃) as compared to longer wavelengths in the range of 240 - 280nm. For this reason the leading developers of 222nm sanitation devices have gone to great lengths to engineer lamps that negate Ozone.

The recognised Ozone Exposure Limits are;

• ACGIH: 100 - 50 ppb
• OSHA: 100 ppb per 8-hour continuous exposure
• FDA: 50 ppb for extended exposure periods

Since safety is paramount to UV Medico, UV222™ sanitation devices employ a lamp design that substantially inhibits the generation of Ozone to a level below 5 ppb. Meaning that it's ultra-safe, way below exposure limits and below the level at which it can be smelled. To put this value of 5 ppb in perspective, the average natural background concentrations of ground-level ozone is in the range of 14 - 49 ppb.

There are however Far UV-C lamps on the market generate Ozone at levels that are orders of magnitude greater than ours and easily result in Ozone levels that exceed the recognised Ozone Exposure Limits. Therefore buyers need to be cautious especially in settings like hospitals, aged care facilities, child care facilities and schools.

For more info see FAQ Question on ozone.

Usage and Performance Statement

UV222 devices are germicidal UVC lights that are provided to sanitise indoor air and surfaces that are directly exposed to the 222nm wavelength light that emits from these devices.

Since 222nm wavelength light is highly effective at inactivating bacteria and viruses and proven safe for use in the presence of people, UV222 devices are ideally suited to protect people from infectious viruses and bacteria.

Viruses and bacteria require relatively low doses of 222nm wavelength light to render them metabolically dead and unable to reproduce or cause infection. These low exposure doses are well below the maximum exposure limits permissible for human exposure.

In Australia guidance for occupational exposure to UV light from devices is provided by Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). Their Time Weighted Average 8-hour Exposure Limit for 222nm wavelength UV light is 23 mJ/cm2. This is the same as the EU directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure to artificial optical radiation - ISO 15858: UV-C Devices – Safety information – permissible human exposure.

In comparison, the exposure dose to achieve a 99.9% infectious particle count reduction for common pathogens of concern is indicated in the table below;

SARS-CoV-2		3.7 mJ/cm2
Influenza A		5.0 mJ/cm2
Staphylococcus aureus		6.5 mJ/cm2
Streptococcus		9.9 mJ/cm2
Mycobacterium tuberculosis		9.0 mJ/cm2

To mitigate the spread of infectious particles a 90% reduction will suffice, which means lower inactivation doses will be adequate as indicated below;

SARS-CoV-2		0.4 mJ/cm2
Influenza A		1.9 mJ/cm2
Staphylococcus aureus		3.9 mJ/cm2
Streptococcus		6.6 mJ/cm2
Mycobacterium tuberculosis		5.0 mJ/cm2

As such all UV222 devices that have a single light emitter is setup to maintain the ARPANSA Exposure Limit of 23 mJ/cm² over 8 hours. The setup is applicable to the air, objects and surface in direct exposure to the UV light at head height. This configuration typical results in 90% reduction for SARS-CoV-2 in less than 10 minutes and improving sanitation the longer the light remains turned on.

To ensure optimum results we custom design the UV222 lighting setup to accommodate the specific requirements of every installation.

UV222 lights are only supplied for specific purposes as defined by the OEM, UV Medico A/S. These lights must not be used for any purpose contrary to those permitted by the OEM. The user will be responsible for using the lights for any non-sanctioned purpose.

Qualified installation

UV Medico products are installed, configured and provisioned into service at your site by our qualified installation technician. Once installed and ready for use, the UV222™ light is programmed to emit non-harmful doses, and it would be impossible to accidentally reconfigure the light to emit harmful doses of UV-C light.

The configuration and provisioning task is done taking into account the characteristics of the space and the proximity to people.

The built-in sensors and safety algorithm will then ensure that the mandated safe dose limit is not exceeded for anyone that is detected within the disinfection zone of the light. When people are not present, optimum dosage for air and surface sanitation is applied to the zone.